HUNT
by The Green Rose137
Summary: From murders to loose ends, to missing eyeballs-what does Rokudo Mukuro want? Shaken to the core, the Vongola starts a school to train young Mafioso, but with mysterious disappearances and spies within the school... FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. The Letter From the Ninth

**HUNT**

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**FULL SUMMARY: **From murders to loose ends to missing eyeballs and hands-what does Rokudo Mukuro want? Shaken to the core, the Vongola starts a school to train young mafioso, but soon mysterious disappearances start to occur, and spies have begun to infiltrate the school... And then a student named Tsuna get strange visions, which leads him to suspect his roommate, who may have a deeper and darker personality behind his monotone. Who exactly is Fran, and what connection does he have with the enemy?**  
**

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**Authors' Notes  
**

**Mockingjay Rose****: **Hello there, Mockingjay Rose here. I trust you have had a great day?

First things first, this story used to be called 'VCEDEFA', and it was previously posted onto my account. I've taken it down and THEULTIMATEGREENBOSS and I have been quite busy editing this story. Previously, it used to be in the genre 'humour', but we've made significant changes, so now it is in the genres 'Mystery' and 'Suspense'. The characters will be darker as will the tone, so if you happened to have read 'VCEDEFA' from a while ago, this new edited version will give you a new and completely different experience.

_**THEULTIMATEGREENBOSS**_**: **G'day to you all! Ah yes, sorry about the abrupt change. There were changes that needed to be made in order to create a more serious atmosphere concerning the plot, and that, unfortunately required a major alteration in all the chapters. Nonetheless, I hope you will enjoy this Fanfiction and please don't forget to send us feedback^^

**DISCLAIMER: **We do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

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**Prologue—The Letter From the Ninth**

**VONGOLA HQ, FLORENCE**

"Boss? I've got bad news, Boss…"

Vongola Nono leaned forward with the telephone at his ear, listening intently. His already creased forehead pinched together even tighter, as he listened to what his consigliere had to say.

"—more deaths this time, Boss," he was saying, "The entire mansion was burned to the ground. There weren't any survivors. Seven Mafioso of the Vongola Famiglia have been confirmed dead, along with a Chiavarone and all the servants. There are a total of eighteen deaths, Boss."

The Ninth slammed his fist onto the table. "_Eighteen_? Seven of our Famiglia dead, and an ally?"

"Yes, Boss. I'm sorry. But there's more to it…

"There have also been some bizarre and eerie news concerning the recovered corpses. Amongst the remains of the unfortunate victims, we have discovered missing hands, and the victims' eyeballs are no longer in their sockets. Furthermore-"

"So, you do not know the motives behind those mysterious amputations?" Vongola Nono interrupted.

"Well Boss, there have been a great deal of confusion regarding this, because our forensic experts have not yet discovered a reason as to why a person would want human hands and eyeballs."

"And furthermore?" questioned the Ninth hoarsely.

"Furthermore, the amputations were performed cleanly, meaning they must have had surgical equipment in their possession."

Then there was a pause.

"Boss?"

"I-I understand," replied Nono shakily, obviously aware that their Famiglia, as well as their allies, were in for some deep suffering if this continued.

"It must have been that illusionist of the Estraneo Famiglia. Only he could have created such an illusion to make the mansion appear normal as it burned, otherwise we would have intervened immediately. It was probably him too who did those amputations…he would have had the medical knowledge, seeing that grew up in the Estraneo Famiglia."

"I agree…That Rokudo Mukuro…" muttered the Ninth with distaste, "He's as slippery as an eel. Has the Varia gotten any leads?"

"It's quite obvious that the Vongola and its allies are being targeted yet again, Boss. And concerning the Varia… their current lead has been deemed a loose end…yet again."

"Loose ends… Rokudo Mukuro sets up distractions _all over_ the place, and he always attacks when our strongest are away."

"Yes, Boss. What are your orders?"

The Ninth closed his eyes, deep in thought. What could he do to protect his Famiglia and Vongola's allies from further deaths? What could he do to defeat Rokudo Mukuro and his dangerous Famiglia? What could he do to prevent his people dying from such tormenting deaths?

Suddenly he knew what to do. His Hyper Intuition agreed with his plan, urging him that it was the proper choice. Words formed at his lips, as he planned to give his orders to his right hand man.

"Coyote? Are you still there?" he asked through the telephone.

"Yes, Boss."

"Listen carefully to your orders. Contact the Varia and tell them to _withdraw from their mission. _They won't get anywhere at this rate. Do you understand?"

"Withdraw the Varia from their mission… What are you thinking, Boss?"

"Trust the old man on this one, my dear friend. I have a plan."

**-XXXX-**

**VARIA HQ, SICILY**

_Why is something like this happening? Didn't the scums get the right data from the beginning? _

With frustration, Xanxus crushed a full tequila bottle with his bare hands, his crimson orbs twitching in barely controlled anger. He watched as the dark shards of glass rained down onto the plush carpet, its colour contrasting with the red.

"That bastard…Rokudo Mukuro," he snarled with clenched fists, "How _dare_ he mock the Vongola…How _dare _he try to underestimate us!" And with that, he flung a nearby bottle of vodka towards the closest moving target.

There was a shrill, feminine cry, the only needed indication that Xanxus had successfully hit a target. Narrowing his crimson eyes at the servant who was pathetically quaking in terror, he slammed his right fist down the mahogany desk. The earsplitting '_crack_' echoed throughout the room, vibrating the window panes.

"Get me some more bottles of fucking tequila, trash," he growled at her, shaking his index finger at her face threateningly, "Or fucking _die_."

No additional words were needed. As the servant girl quickly scurried away from the room, Xanxus returned to glaring at the door, his mind drawing twisted plans to eliminate the man on top of his hit list- Rokudo Mukuro.

Rokudo Mukuro was plotting, without a doubt, something which would affect the entire world. But that was no big deal. Most Mafioso had dreamed of obtaining world domination during some point in their lives, including Xanxus.

However, what singled Rokudo Mukuro out from the rest was the mystery behind his killings and deliberately left evidence. From the reports written by the Vongola and his own Independent Assassination Squad's discoveries, all the unfortunate victims were either in the Vongola, or allied to the Family. That meant that Rokudo was aiming for powerful targets.

The villain had purposely led them astray when the Varia were presumably monitoring a young woman, who may have been possessed by the illusionist, judging by her almost random lapses between consciousness and unconsciousness. After declaring the task to have a success rate of 100% - it was such a menial task- he had sent Belphegor and Mammon to a town in Japan, where Nagi – that was her name - was hiding.

After one week, the Varia members had gathered what they thought was 'vital' information, and they were ready to confront the woman concerning Rokudo Mukuro, when she mysteriously vanished from the eyes of Belphegor and Mammon. Not even the Varia's illusionist was able to locate her with his Thoughtography.

Seven weeks later, the woman's body was found, washed to the shores of Florence. It was a mystery indeed, how her body was still intact, and her skin was still as unmarked as an infant's. A soaked white dress clung to her small frame, and her dark brown hair flowed down to her lower back, still as silky as ever.

It simply wasn't possible. No one could have been washed across the world in such a short time, and had not had their body somewhat destroyed. CEDEF's forensic department had immediately performed examinations on her body, and the results stated that she was definitely human, but none of her DNA samples matched anyone's. When images of her were uploaded onto the internet, no one claimed to know her.

It was still an unsolved mystery. A month later, "Case Nagi" was cold and closed, and her possible involvement with Rokudo Mukuro remained unconfirmed.

So in the end, the Varia had been following a loose end, and now they were back to square one.

Then the following day, Mammon had rushed to the scene, crying out that his digital archives had been hacked into. He sounded thoroughly upset at his loss, probably because his second main source of income had been lost. To Xanxus and his superiors however, the information theft struck them hard. The Varia's archive was one of the world's best, second only to CEDEF's.

The hacker had not yet been identified, and after Belphegor had attempted to locate the hacker via computer tracing, the Varia was led on another wild goose chase.

_Loose ends, loose ends_… Xanxus had to make plans, quickly before the bastard could make another move and tangle their minds further from the strings of mysteries he had woven. And just at the at the most inconvenient timing, Squalo walked in.

"VOOOI! Boss! We've-"

The sound of glass colliding with Squalo's head was not very flattering.

"Sounds like Levi when he sneezes," laughed Bel, who entered the room accompanied by Levi and Lussuria, "And that wasn't _pretty._" Levi opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly silenced by Bel's knives.

"Why the hell are you guys here?" growled Xanxus, glaring at his subordinates. He wasn't in the mood to socialise right now and dissatisfaction was clearly expressed by the change of atmosphere in the spacious room.

"Boss, we've got a letter from the Ninth," Levi spoke carefully to not upset his Boss even further. Xanxus snatched the letter from Levi and glanced at the Ninth's Dying Will Seal, which marked that it was genuine. He read it out loud:

_Dear Xanxus and the Varia, _

_I am here to inform you about the crisis the Vongola Famiglia and its allies are in at the moment, caused by the illusionist Rokudo Mukuro. I have a new plan concerning the matter and I would like you all to comply, in order to prevent further deaths. Varia, you will form a partnership with CEDEF, and the Arcobaleno have also agreed to provide us with their assistance. Together, you will open a teaching school for young Mafioso and train them to the best of your ability. This way, we will have more people fighting for us, and our chances of defeating Rokudo Mukuro will increase considerably._

_Yours truly,_

_The Ninth._

"…"

"…"

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?_" Xanxus boomed thunderously, his palms starting to glow. He longed for another bottle of tequila, but the stupid servant had not yet arrived.

"_VOOOII!_ WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO OPEN A FREAKING SCHOOL FOR SHITTY TRASHES! THEY SHOULD JUST GET THEIR HEADS OUT OF THEIR ARSES AND START STUDYING DAMNIT! AND THE HELL WE'LL PARTNER WITH CEDEF!" yelled Squalo, who was waving his sword around dangerously.

"Mou, calm down, Squ-chan," soothed Lussuria, "You'll get high blood pressure!"

"Ushishishishi, this is quite unexpected, right Boss?" asked Belphegor.

Mammon reached into his cloak and fingered his indigo Arcobaleno pacifier, which had chains wrapped around it, hiding its true power. "Aria sent me an email this afternoon, informing me that she and the other Arcobaleno will be aiding the Vongola by being instructors…but _teaching_? Teachers have such a low income," he said, disgust evident in his tone.

"Mammon's right," Belphegor said, nodding, "Teaching a bunch of peasants? How pathetic for a prince. Teaching is a commoner's job."

"Teaching is pathetic," Levi agreed, "We, Boss's loyal followers, are the _elite_. We shouldn't have to teach _children_, out of all people."

Xanxus didn't reply. He used his flame to burn the letter and glared hard at his subordinates.

"Pathetic?" he finally snarled, "Says a bunch of trash who couldn't even complete such simple missions?"

Mammon, Belphegor, Squalo, Levi and Lussuria all flinched and averted their gazes.

"Boss, what are your orders?" asked Levi nervously.

"_We'll go with Ninth's plans, trashes._"

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**END OF CHAPTER  
**

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_**THEULTIMATEGREENBOSS**_**:** I hope you enjoyed the Prologue of "HUNT" ^^. Please stay tuned for future chapters or any news in relation to the story on our profile. Thank you to all readers!

**Mockingay Rose:**** Y**es, thank you! In the next chapter, we will be introducing our protagonist, Tsuna, so things will get more interesting. Don't worry; it will be very different to the old VCEDEFA story. The chapters will be longer too.

Anyway, so that was the Prologue. How did you think we went? Please feel free to write us a review – we appreciate all kinds of feedback from our readers.

Well, later then!


	2. The Unsettling Feeling

**HUNT**

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******FULL SUMMARY: **From murders to loose ends to missing eyeballs and hands-what does Rokudo Mukuro want? Shaken to the core, the Vongola starts a school to train young mafioso, but soon mysterious disappearances start to occur, and spies have begun to infiltrate the school... And then a student named Tsuna get strange visions, which leads him to suspect his roommate, who may have a deeper and darker personality behind his monotone. Who exactly is Fran, and what connection does he have with the enemy?

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******Authors' Notes:  
**

**Mockingjay Rose: **Yo, did that prologue leave you hanging? Don't worry, don't worry, we've updated. We were quite busy last week, and we will be for the next few weeks. Dammit, we've got "Assessment Week"!

Arghgh...CRAM WITH DYING WILL! *facepalm*

_**THEULTIMATEGREENBOSS**_**: **Heyo! Hehehe^^ A nice, tasty cliff-hanger, yes? Yep, as Mockingjay Rose says, our lives will be pretty hectic, not that it wasn't hectic the past week. Well then, I sure hope you will be immersed in the first chapter of our story~

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**Chapter 1—The Unsettling Feeling**

**NAMIMORI, JAPAN**

_Dear Mr. T. Sawada,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been given a student scholarship at Varia e Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia Accademia (VCEDEFA), an academically excellent school for the gifted and talented. _

_We will provide everything you will require during your stay, from accommodation and food to uniforms and education supplies. Excursions expenses are free of charge, and we will also provide the best and most experienced tutors who will help you become a leader of the next generation._

_To confirm your placement, please contact one of the three directors below. We look forward to seeing you there._

_Mr. I. Sawada, Mr. T. Vongola, Mr. X. Vongola___

**-XXXX-**

Sawada Tsunayoshi stared at the letter, his lips slightly parted in disbelief.

"Mum!" he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the thick, expensive paper accusingly, "Where did you get his from?"

His mother just smiled cheerfully, spooning cooked hard-boiled eggs onto a plate. "Oh my, Tsu-kun, I received it in the mailbox this morning. It says: "We will help you become a leader of the next generation"! And look, there's your daddy's signature on the left! Oh, Tsu-kun, isn't this wonderful? You'll get to study at a private boarding school in Italy, all free of charge!"

The brunet boy eyed the letter skeptically. "Scholarship?" he questioned, his right eye twitching, "Since when did I apply for a scholarship?"

_And since when did I, _Dame-Tsuna_, become "gifted and talented"? _he mentally added.

Tsuna's mother beamed at him. "I'm so proud of you, Tsu-kun! It's an elite school. Very few people get scholarships there! Your daddy must be proud too!"

"Dad? Why would he be a director at a school? Doesn't he work in the oil fields?"

His mother turned away from her cooking to give Tsuna a dazzling smile. She looked happier than she had been for the past few months. Her cheeks had a reddish glow, and her eyes sparkled. For a brief moment, Tsuna felt guilty that he was going to wipe the radiant look off her expression.

"I forgot to tell you," she said, her blush deepening, "Daddy's oil mining company is starting the school! A lot of people from the company will be teaching!"

_And how is oil mining related to teaching children to be leaders of the next generation? _Tsuna wanted to say. Everything about the letter was suspicious. Free accommodation? Free education? Free food? Free excursions? It was all too good to be true!

"Mum…" Tsuna tried again, "About this school-"

"Good news, Tsu-kun! I've already told Daddy that you can go!"

"But I don't _want_ to go! This is definitely a scam! How come I've never heard of Vongola before? And what is CEDEF? Or Varia? They don't sound like oil mining companies!"

"Don't worry, Tsu-kun! Daddy told me about it! He wants you to go to VCEDEFA too!"

"_What? _But I don't want to go! I'm staying at Namimori Middle! I-I've got f-friends there!" Tsuna cried desperately, hoping to sway his mother's decision.

"If you've got friends, then how come you never invite anyone over?" Nana replied with a small giggle, "Aww, Tsu-kun, this is a wonderful opportunity! Maybe you're more suited to an Italian style education. Maybe you'll make some real friends there."

"I-Italy!" Tsuna exclaimed, "That's on the other side of the world! And Mum, I'm already doing fine in my grades!"

"Tsu-kun, I-"

"Hiiee! I'm going to be late! H-Hibari-san is going to bite me to death!"

Tsuna quickly grabbed a piece of toast and an egg before bolting out of the front door, yelling a final "I'm not going to that school!" over his shoulder. However, as he rushed out of his front yard, he felt his head collide with a dark figure.

The man wore a neat, expensive suit, which looked completely out of place. He had a well-toned body, tanned skin, and a pair of black sunglasses that hid his identity.

_H-He__ looks suspicious! _Tsuna yelled in his mind.

"Hiiiie!" Tsuna squealed, nearly choking on his breakfast, "I-I'm s-so s-sorry! P-Please f-f-forgive me!"

The man extended a hand towards him, eyeing him carefully. "Mr. Sawada?" he asked in slightly accented Japanese.

Tsuna slowly backed away from him. He did not know this man. Namimori was a fairly small town, and Tsuna knew all the residents. If anyone moved in or out of the town, he would surely know. But this intimidating man…

"N-No," he said quickly – a little _too_ quickly, "Y-You've g-got the w-wrong person."

The man knelt down, so he matched Tsuna's level. "Then," he asked in a low voice, "Could you tell me where he lives?"

Tsuna flinched under the man's intense stare. "T-There," he stuttered, pointing in a random direction towards Namimori Shrine. The man in the suit looked skeptical, but then he turned away much to Tsuna's immediate relief.

But as the tanned man stood up, Tsuna made out the unmistakable outline of one of those weapons he had seen so often in movies and games. His eyes widened and his heart rate sped up frantically. That man, he he-

He had a gun.

Dropping his long-forgotten breakfast, Tsuna hastily slapped some soil from his front garden over his family's nameplate. As long as they didn't find him and his mother, they'd be safe.

**-XXXX-**

Tsuna was bitten to death.

But that was normal. His attendance record was full of absent symbols which were crossed out, signifying his late arrivals. His body was full of bruises and old scars he had gotten since the beginning of middle school, which was approximately a year ago.

What was also normal was the physical greeting of dagger sharp pencils, rubbers, books and occasionally a pair of scissors. Spitballs were not uncommon either.

Ignoring the hurtful taunts and the snide laughter from his classmates, Tsuna made his way past the rows of desks to his seat, wincing every now and then as pieces of stationery stabbed into his back. His head was tucked close to his body in order to make his body a smaller target. As he attempted to dodge flying spitballs, he caught sight of an empty desk at the back of the room.

Tsuna yearned to move to that seat. It was close to the door, far away from the bullies, and his back would not be vulnerable. If a classmate wanted to throw anything at him, they would have to turn around, and Nezu-sensei would notice and give them detention…

However, that unoccupied seat belonged to Yamamoto Takeshi, who was the star baseball player in Tsuna's whole school. He was one of the only two students who had treated him equally, the other being Sasagawa Kyoko – the school idol and Tsuna's crush. But Yamamoto had transferred to a different school a week ago, and no one had heard of him ever since. His fan club had made rules concerning his property. Nobody was permitted to touch his desk, his locker, or the baseball bat and mitt he had used.

_Of course, I don't stand a chance_, Tsuna thought pitifully,_ I am only Dame-Tsuna…_

A wet, sticky piece of tissue landed on his neck and slid under his clothes, leaving a slimy trail of mucus down his raw beaten flesh. Flushing with humiliation and screaming in pain, the brunet shook his school shirt vigorously, tears threatening to leak from his brown eyes as the rest of the class roared with laughter.

Tsuna closed his eyes and collapsed onto his chair, before preparing to listen to Nezu-sensei's long, unintelligible teaching.

Yes, everything was normal.

Then suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

There were three distinct taps on the wood, each tap one second apart. Everyone tensed, recognising it as Hibari's knocking.

"C-Come in!" Nezu-sensei called out nervously.

The door swung open and the Prefect stiffly strode in, shifting his icy glare across the students. From his behind, another figure followed. As the visitor faced the class, Tsuna recognised him immediately.

It was the man he had seen this morning. It was the man with the gun.

**-XXXX-**

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna kept his head bowed and urgently tried to control his heavy breathing, as well as preventing a dark shade of red from overtaking his pale complexion. _Hiiiie! H-How could this be happening?_ he cried mentally, _Who is this man with the gun, and w-what does he want f-from m-_

"Herbivore."

The Prefect's threatening voice was all too familiar.

Tsuna cringed and continued to bore his gaze into the wooden table, willing himself to not look up. It would be all over if he did. The brunet was hoping that the man might think that Hibari-san had gotten the wrong person- therefore he wouldn't be able to confirm his appearance to him this morning, if only he didn't look up...

_P-Please go, please go, plea-_

"Do you want to get bitten to death, herbivore?" Hibari hissed, positioning a tonfa under Tsuna's bowed head. The cold metal grazed his neck, and Tsuna shook uncontrollably.

"Ha! Dame-Tsuna is too scared!" jeered a class-mate.

"Scaredy Cat!" another yelled.

Soon enough, the whole classroom erupted into merciless taunts and jeers.

"S-Silence, a-at once!" yelled Nezu-sensei, glancing anxiously at Hibari. He then turned to his cowering student. "Sawada, if you are needed, please rise and follow them at once," he ordered impatiently, and tilted his head to check the clock that was adhered to the cream walls.

Tsuna nodded meekly, with his head still bowed. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over his table. Tsuna flinched and closed his eyes tightly.

"Mr Sawada," the visitor began, "it was your mother who informed me that you were here."

The brunet instantly looked up and locked eyes with the tanned man. "M-Mum?" he questioned shakily.

Seeing that he'd finally caught the boy's attention, the man gestured for them to go outside. Tsuna nodded frantically, worried that the man would shoot him should he not comply. When they were out of earshot from Hibari and the rest of the class, the man continued on his speech.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself, Mr. Sawada," he said, bowing elegantly, "I am referred to as Turmeric. I work for your father. He is a wonderful Boss."

"R-Referred to? A-and what a-about M-Mum?"

"Mr. Sawada, your mother has granted me permission to supervise you until you reach your designated destination. Until then, I will be your bodyguard." The man paused, allowing Tsuna to register the information in his mind.

_Hiee? __B-Bodyguard? _Tsuna thought with alarm, _Will I be attacked?_

"If you believe this to be false, I have a letter from your mother with her consent concerning this," he continued, and handed Tsuna a neatly folded letter. Tsuna opened the letter hesitantly with trembling hands.

_Tsu-kun,_

_A wonderful man came to our house this morning and asked to take you to th__at__ elite school in Italy! Isn't this exciting? Tsu-kun, soon you will definitely be a leader of the next generation__- __I just know it! Follow the man, Tsu-kun, alright? He is one of your daddy's close friends, so there is absolutely no need to fear. _

_I will be writing letters to you. Mum will really miss you! Work hard and say 'Hi' to daddy for me!_

_From your dearest mum. _

The letter was genuine – his intuition told him that much.

Tsuna could not believe his eyes. The brunet clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in surrender. There was no way he could refuse his mother's wish, particularly how she looked so gleeful this morning in relation to the news. He was going to leave. He was going to go to the other side of the globe, where he will be participating in some scam school educational program. He was going to leave his mum, he was going to lea-

"Please hurry, Mr. Sawada. The limousine is waiting."

Tsuna swallowed. "Y-Yes sir."

**-XXXX-**

"Mr. Sawada, are you hungry or thirsty? We have a special selection of Italian cuisines and beverages in the refrigerator to your left. Please feel free to help yourself," informed Tumeric, once they were seated in a black limousine. Seeing the brunet's look of discomfort, he smiled at Tsuna through the rearview mirror of the lavish vehicle.

"N-No thank you...I-I'm fine," Tsuna said quietly before he resumed to stare out of the window. The sudden departure from Namimori made him uneasy. Also, the fact that these strangers were so rich unnerved him to no end.

"I thought dad was the manager of an oil mining company...how did he get so rich?" he muttered to himself. As he caught sight of the man's face in the rearview mirror, he remembered and shuddered.

_That man has a gun._

Turmeric smiled again, and Tsuna quickly averted his gaze before exhaling deeply. His life was in a mess. He had no idea what was going to happen next. He was going to a foreign country, and he could not speak a single word of their language. He was suspicious of his father's job as an oil miner, and the thought that the blond man had possibly _lied _to him and his mother for over ten years was awful enough.

Nothing was piecing together. Nothing.

All the brunet could do was sit down and nod dumbly as Tumeric politely spoke to him. Despite his friendly attitude, Tsuna couldn't hide the fact that the man in the passenger seat had a gun, which could end his life in a fla-

Tsuna's endless trail of thoughts ended abruptly as Turmeric cleared his throat.

"We have arrived at the airport, Mr. Sawada."

**-XXXX-**

**SICILY, ITALY**

Tsuna could not believe it.

They had arrived in Italy on a _private jet_ It was outrageous - private jets were definitely not normal for ordinary workers of an oil mining company. Such ordinary workers could not be rich enough to have a private jet and a limousine of their own, or to have a dining table in the jet filled to the brim with cuisines he would have never thought he would be eating in his lifetime.

It was completely _outrageous._ What else was waiting in store for him?

The brunet wearily followed the man out of the airport, rubbing his eyes. Travelling by air had been a brand new experience for him, and it was not a good one. His eyes were strained from the lack of sleep, and his throat felt hoarse after retching. As they walked outside, they were only to be greeted by _another_ limousine.

"Mr. Sawada, we will now be going to Varia e Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia Accademia. It will be a 4 hour drive from here."

Tsuna could only nod and obey the orders said to him, too tired and scared to say anything else. As he was ushered into another exquisite, posh limousine, he stole a last glance at the International Airport of Sicily.

And that was when he saw _it._

He hadn't meant to see it. It was not until a glint of light from the intruding rays of the sun caught his eye from his peripheral vision. And that was when he turned to locate the source of the gleam.

As a cool breeze blew the man's clothing backwards, the wind revealed three small daggers positioned under his belt.

And on one of those daggers, Tsuna swore he could see a trifling fleck of dried blood.

**-XXXX-**

Tsuna shakily climbed the many stairs leading up to the grand door of Varia e Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia Accademia. He cringed at the sight of a black flag depicting a ferocious beast with a large black cross in the background. There were strange, foreign letters below the insignia, and Tsuna could only stare at it without comprehension before he turned to his right. There was another flag beside the one with the beast, but the second one had golden decorative designs surrounding a bullet in its centre.

_The Vongola crest..._Tsuna thought immediately, remembering the familiar crest he had seen on the limousines.

On the right side of the Vongola flag was a white flag with concentric circles at its centre. Black flames protruded from the top right side of the circumference, and at the middle of the inner circle were the letters 'CEDEF'.

_It said on the letter that dad is the boss of CEDEF..._

The flag after that was a black one which looked similar to the Vongola flag, but with different colours and a different insignia. The flag puzzled Tsuna, as the insignia was of an orange pacifier surrounded by rainbow swirling patterns.

"P-Pacifiers...?" the brunet questioned confusedly. He walked over to the stair railing to see if he could locate any more, and there were. There was a flag with two horses on their hind legs on either side with the capital letter 'C'.

_W-Why would there be so many weird flags around here? __They don't seem to be flags for oil mining companies… __Is this school really _that_ important?_ Tsuna wondered with a frown, _And if this school is really _that_ important... then why is it located in the middle of nowhere? __And why do the people who work here carry i-illegal weapons?_

The school was really in the middle of nowhere. Surrounding the premises were just hectares and hectares of empty land. The nearest shop or town was about 3 hours away, and if they needed any emergency medical assistance, it was near impossible. The school was situated on a mountain, meaning that any type of transport would have to drive at least an hour to travel around the steep slopes. Tsuna wasn't even sure if ordinary cars could even get up here.

The man noticed the muddled look on the boy's expression and explained, "Mr. Sawada, there is no need to worry. These grounds are completely safe and the lands are only empty since we have not placed any equipment for the students to train with yet."

_T-Train? A-All this land to train in?_

"Also, we do not want the students to injure themselves with the equipment without our supervision, as any injury is potentially lethal."

"H-Hiiiie? L-Lethal?"

Turmeric just flashed him another of his all-knowing smiles, leaving Tsuna deeper and deeper into the dark. Tsuna bowed his head down and sped up so he was closer to his 'bodyguard', determined to not get lost in the many identical corridors.

When they ascended another flight of stairs in the elite school, Tsuna suddenly realised he had been ignoring a strange feeling in his gut the entire time – the feeling that sensed the eerie, haunting atmosphere of the school creeping towards him, ready to choke him. As his every footstep echoed across the halls, he couldn't help but _feel_ that he was here for a reason.

But if only he _knew_ the reason...

* * *

**THEULTIMATEGREENBOSS: **Another nice cliff-hanger, perhaps? I give my thanks and appreciation to all readers and reviewers^^ Oh, and there's a new and improved 'Review' button, hmm? It's cool, yeah? When you click on it, it goes down. Hehe^^

**Mockingjay Rose: **Ah, the new button. It's blue, it's blue! Go on, click on it. Do us a favour by telling us what you think of this chapter, will you? We'll be waiting ^^


	3. A Void of Confusion

**HUNT**

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_**TUGB: **_Yeow! (A slight variation of 'Yo'). I hope you have been all doing well. Thank you to all our dear readers and reviewers – your feedback was extremely supportive. Well then, please take pleasure in reading the third chapter of 'HUNT'^^. Anyone want a Green crepe before you get started?

**Mockingjay Rose: **Yo! (Is obviously too lame to think of a cooler greeting). Like TUGB said, thanks for all your support.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – A Void of Confusion**

_Tap tap tap._

A pair of nervous brown eyes widened slightly as the footsteps neared. He quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for a place to hide. Turmeric had left a few minutes ago, saying that someone would pick him up, and that it was all safe. However, being alone in the suffocating hall was a hundred times worse.

_Tap tap tap._

"Thou art Tsunayoshi Sawada-dono, am I correct?"

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

Tsuna whirled around and faced a boy who was around his age. He had dirty blond shoulder-length hair with bangs which covered his bright blue eyes. He also sported a black tuxedo with a CEDEF logo, but this logo, Tsuna noticed, was surrounded by blue flames, instead of the yellow flames he had seen on Turmeric's. On the boy's face was a friendly, approachable smile, which reassured Tsuna.

"Y-Yes…" Tsuna said slowly, "And you?"

"Oh, I am Basil of CEDEF. It is awfully nice to meet thou, Sawada-dono!" he greeted with excitement as he walked closer to the brunet, "I was expecting thy arrival, from what I had heard from Master-dono."

Basil continued when he saw Tsuna nod sluggishly. "I will be thine guide today, Sawada-dono! Please ask me any questions if necessary."

As he followed Basil, Tsuna could not help but let his mind be occupied by an endless current of questions.

_Hiee? 'Dono'? Why am I being referred to as 'lord'? And who and what on earth is CEDEF? Is there even an oil mining company named CEDEF? Just what am I doing here, and what is going to happen to me? Am I going to be-_

"Sawada-dono, this is the infirmary," explained Basil, pointing to a large entrance to their left, "This is where thou may come for any treatments for injuries whilst engaging in fights or in a training session. The head nurse-dono is really nice and we have a wide range of advanced technology. The infirmary beds art really tidy and clean, and the equipment is first-class."

Tsuna gaped.

"I-Injuries? Engaging in fights?" _Are the__ people at this academy thugs or gangsters of some sort? _Tsuna cried mentally, attempting to take in all this new information.

Seeing Tsuna so flustered, Basil smiled and added, "Ah, Sawada-dono, thou wouldn't need to come here often if thou art careful."

"Hai..." Tsuna replied, sounding surprisingly composed. However, on the inside, his mind was blank with fear.

**-XXXX- **

They continued to walk along the second floor of the Academym when they came across two grand, massive doors. Basil grinned sheepishly and turned to Tsuna before opening one with one hand and gesturing for Tsuna to enter with the other. "This here, is my favourite part of the second floor!" he announced cheerfully.

Soon enough, Tsuna could see why. It was the majestic dining hall of the Academy.

"I-It's huge!"

"Ahaha, yes, seeing as it contains as many as five hundred students," replied Basil, leading the still frozen Tsuna into the hall, "We have various lavish meals and cuisines to offer here from many different cultures, including beverages and delicious desserts."

"I see…that's so cool…I have never been in such a large dining hall," smiled Tsuna, who was obviously engrossed by his surroundings.

"However, there is a catch."

"C-Catch?"

"Yes, thou must speak the language that is required of thou, in order to receive thy food," Basil said in an amused tone, as he watched the brunet's expression change instantly from joy to horror, "The language that thou must speak will correspond with the cuisine thou will receive, Sawada-dono."

"H-Hiee! B-But I don't know any languages besides Japanese…and my English sucks!" complained Tsuna frantically, covering his face in embarrassment. _And I thought it was just some regular dining hall!_ he thought miserably, whilst following Basil out of the stylish hall.

As he followed the boy out of the hall and into the corridor, Tsuna could not help but let his feelings of fear and confusion consume him. Even though everything seemed slightly normal _at the moment_…some things were just not quite right – like how there were so many pieces missing.

He shuddered.

There were still questions that kept lingering at the back of his mind – questions that needed to be answered; questions that aroused his increasing suspicion concerning his dad, and the so-called elite academy, as well as all the other things which had happened to him this morning.

_**One** – _his invitation to VCEDEFA. Tsuna was positive neither he nor his mother had enrolled him there. He was absolutely certain that he did not get a scholarship at a school in Italy, which provided everything. Tsuna knew that he was too _dame_ to get a scholarship at such a prestigious school.

_**Two** – _the man with the gun. Why would Turmeric have a gun? Namimori was safe. And why would a man who worked in an oil mine need one?

_**Three **– _his dad, the limousines and private jets. How rich was his dad? Where did he get all of the money from? Why did he enrol Tsuna at this strange Italian boarding school, and why did he hire someone to be Tsuna's bodyguard? Was Tsuna in danger? From who and from what?

_**Four** – _the location of VCEDEFA. Why was it in the middle of nowhere? For what reason did it need to be separated from the rest of Sicily?

_**Five** – _the mysterious flags. What did they symbolise? How on earth were they related to oil mining companies?

_**Six** – _the training. What did Turmeric mean about the 'training' and it being 'potentially lethal'? And why would VCEDEFA need such a large infirmary with the world's best medical technology?

Tsuna almost zoned out from listening to Basil's explanation about the classes and lessons that were in store for him, whilst trekking up the long staircase to the third floor, still lost in his thoughts.

"Sawada-dono," Basil said, gently nudging Tsuna's elbow, "Art thou listening? I was telling thou about thy classes. Thine timetable will be given to thee after thy tour. Here at VCEDEFA, we teach..."

All Tsuna heard were Spying and detective classes, Languages, Sword-fighting and Drama. Hearing those extremely strange subjects being taught only added to his suspicion that the school had connections to illegal business, but the fact that he knew he was going to fail in all of the subjects also slapped him hard on the face.

_This is terrible! _the brunet thought pessimistically, _Not only was I a loser back in Namimori, but now I'll be laughed at as the worst student here! I promised my mum that I'd do bett-_

"E-Eh? Sawada Tsunayoshi?" questioned a familiar voice.

Tsuna snapped back to reality, looked up and gasped.

"H-Hiee? Y-Yamamoto –san?" _H-He knows my name?_

It was Yamamoto Takeshi indeed. He wore a light blue T-shirt, denim jeans and a pair of green sneakers. He was with another boy about their age, who had shoulder-length silver hair and a seemingly permanent scowl on his face.

"Ah…Sawada-dono, dost thou knowst him?" Basil asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"Yes…Yamamoto-san went to my previous middle school," the brunet said, with surprise evident in his tone.

Yamamoto grinned sheepishly and placed his hands in his jeans' pocket. "Yo Basil! I haven't been seeing you around lately," he greeted cheerfully. Seeing a small nod and smile from the CEDEF member, he faced Tsuna, "Ahaha, what are you doing here, Tsuna?"

Upon hearing his other nickname being spoken, the brunet smiled. "I was given a scholarship to attend this…academy, though I have no idea why I would be selected and what I am doing here!"

"Whoa, scholarship? You're awesome, Tsuna, to be given a scholarship at such a prestigious school in the heart of Sicily in Italy!" the dark haired boy complimented, "I was granted a sports scholarship here!"

"Are you done yet?" another voice snapped irritably. It was the boy with Yamamoto – the boy with the silver hair. Tsuna gulped and took a few steps back.

"A-Ahaha, Gokudera," Yamamoto smiled apologetically. He then gestured to the boy and turned to Tsuna.

"This is Gokudera Hayato—no, _Hayato Gokudera_. I keep forgetting we're not in Japan anymore, haha! Anyway, he has been showing me around and helping me with my homework," he introduced. To the silver haired boy, he said, "Gokudera, this is Tsunayoshi Sawada from my previous middle school."

"I-It's n-nice to meet you, Gokudera-san," Tsuna managed to stutter.

"Che…" Gokudera scoffed.

And with that, Gokudera stalked into the an entrance which had a sign which read "WEAPONRY", without another word or a second glance back.

**-XXXX-**

"H-Hie? T-This is the…weaponry?" questioned Tsuna as he faced the countless rows of swords, daggers, arrows, knives and whatnot which lined the walls of the weaponry.

"Yes, Sawada-dono," replied Basil amusingly, "This is everything we have, and it sure is massive, isn't it?"

Tsuna nodded meekly and gaped as they walked past a shelf filled with bombs, dynamite and explosives.

The walls of the weaponry were painted in white, though the colour was stained with different shades of brown, and it was brightly lit. It was weird that the room reeked of smoke and plastic, and there was an unmistakeable metallic taste hanging in the air. Furthermore, the atmosphere was stuffy and Tsuna found it difficult to breathe.

_What the hell is going on?_ he shrieked in his mind, _Knives? Swords? Explosives? What are we going to be doing here…? Why would we need weapons if we are only-_

"Oi, you're lagging behind," barked Gokudera glancing behind him, "The Academy won't want a lost newcomer in the Weaponry."

"Hiiiiie! S-Sorry."

"Che. You're annoying."

"I'll explain the system here, Sawada-dono," Basil said, just as they were turning the corner to the 'Guns' section, "Since this is by far the largest weaponry we have, there is a policy that all students must comply in order to use the equipment."

"I-I don't need a weapon!" Tsuna cried, waving his hands in front of his face, "And weapons are illegal! Y-You-t-they—what is this place? K-Killing is wrong, and I-I will n-never touch a weapon!"

Yamamoto laughed good-naturedly and wrapped an arm around the terrified brunet. "It's pretty fun, actually," he remarked, "Of course we don't kill. I've been learning how to use the sword. It's kind of like fencing and baseball! I think of it as training for the Olympics, ahaha!"

The scowling silver haired boy walked towards the archery section and studied a few bows, muttering something which sounded like "baseball idiot" under his breath.

"B-But this place smells like b-blood! T-Turmeric-san had a g-gun and d-driver-san had b-bloody k-knives..."

"Che. Weakling," Gokudera sneered. Before he could add anything else, Basil stepped in between the two.

"Gokudera, be quiet," Basil warned the silver haired boy in Italian. The silver haired boy shot one last hateful glare at Tsuna before he slammed his ring into the lock in front of the bow collection. The lock flashed red, and when the glass panes slowly shifted, Gokudera grabbed the largest bow, retracted his ring, and left.

Tsuna had no idea what just happened. "W-What the-?" he muttered.

"Ahaha, Gokudera's been quite down today," Yamamoto suddenly said, "I gotta go now, Tsuna! I'll see you around! I hope we're in the same classes!"

"Yeah...me too..." the brunet managed to say with a weak smile.

"So Sawada-dono," Basil continued from where they left off, "The rules. To obtain a weapon, thou must insert thine ring flame into the lock. The locks will read thy flame and know thy identity. It is like an I.D card, but everyone's flame is different, like how everyone has different DNA."

"I-I don't have a ring." Tsuna spluttered. Then he hastily added, "I don't want one either! I-I don't need a weapon! Hiiiiiie!"

"It's alright, Sawada-dono. If thy ring gets lost or stolen, there is a retina scanner which thou can use," Basil gestured nearby at a row of scanners which were located against a wall.

Suddenly Tsuna's hands covered his eyes. "Hiiiie! M-My eyes?" he stammered incredulously.

"Fear not, Sawada-dono," Basil explained patiently, "It is just a laser which scans thy eyes – it is not a needle which pokes into thy eyes."

Tsuna nodded dumbly and withdrew his hands from his face, though he was still giving wary glances at the retina scanners.

"Okay," Basil then announced grinning, "Let's go eat dinner." He then saw the horror plastered across the brunet's face and gave him a reassuring pat on the back, "Don't worry, the language today is Japanese."

**-XXXX-**

The dining hall was absolutely amazing.

Though Tsuna had seen it before during his tour around VCEDEFA with Basil, walking through the massive hall with the other students at the academy was a completely different experience. Hundreds of students buzzed in and out, with bits of sushi sticking out of their mouths as they hurriedly tried to complete their homework. They all wore neat clothes, with a badge pinned on their shirts. Rings of different colours and shapes adorned their fingers. Tsuna noticed that some students wore dissimilar uniforms. Some were wearing smart tuxedos with the logo 'CEDEF' being engulfed by a different colour flame, whereas others sported a black coat, black pants and boots.

Tsuna felt completely out of place in his creased Namimori Middle School uniform. He watched attentively as the other students fluently spoke with the teachers serving the food.

"New student?" a voice asked, as he was finallyin front of the line, "A foreigner?"

Tsuna looked up and shrieked. The man wore a leather uniform, which was decorated with a red boa. A pair of black sunglasses covered his eyes, and the man had a green Mohawk.

"Good evening, Lussuria-dono," Basil greeted. The brunet awkwardly bowed, with his face flushing madly. His scream had attracted quite a lot of attention, so he tried to shield his face from the curious students by keeping his head down.

"Evening~!" the flamboyant man replied cheerfully. Eyeing Tsuna, he questioned, "Are you Japanese, mou~?" When the brunet nodded, he beamed and added, "What would you like for dinner, hmm?"

Looking at the extravagant dishes behind the glass, Tsuna told Lussuria what he wanted. Basil requested the same food, which comprised of sushi, rice, seafood, cooked vegetables and salad. Then they ate their dinner with little talk, as Tsuna had to put in a lot of effort just to talk over the loud noise of the students around him. While eating, he examined the long rows of tables that lined the hall and the posh chandeliers that lit up the room.

"Everything looks so new…and expensive," he observed. His attention then went to a great crowd in one corner of the hall.

He saw that there was a dispute going on, as cutlery being thrown with deadly accuracy, and there sounds which he assumed to be plates being broken. The students around them were shouting and yelling encouragement to prolong the fight.

Tsuna cringed.

_Hiee! I hope that does not happen to me! _he mentally wished. Whilst eating another sushi roll, the brunet saw some teachers striding into the hall to break up the fight.

Tsuna witnessed more ruckus, before the boys were forcibly yanked out of the hall by their ears, by a man with long silver hair, and another with golden hair. Tsuna nearly yelped and dropped his vegetables in surprise at the long, menacing sword that was attached to the arm of the long-haired man.

"Hiee!"

Basil eyed Tsuna curiously and smiled. "It is nearly time to go, Sawada-dono."

When they were finished, they stacked the steel cutlery and empty plates onto a trolley, before Tsuna was finally led to his room.

**-XXXX-**

Tsuna's room in the dormitory was just an average looking room—it had a bunk bed, two wooden desks, a large flat screen television, two computers, a few chairs, a wardrobe, and a tall bookshelf. The bathroom was near the wardrobe, and a few familiar items were neatly arranged in their appropriate places.

"M-My things..."

"Yes, Sawada-dono. Thy mother packed a few suitcases full of thine possessions before thou left, and gave them to Tumeric-dono. I have helped unpack a few things for thou, like the blankets."

"T-Thank you, Basil-kun."

Basil smiled. "Thou art welcome, Sawada-dono." Gesturing foward, he said, "Thy timetable is on thine desk, and the uniforms are in the wardrobe. If thou need anything, there is a phone beside the bed. My room number is in the booklet next to the phone, and I will try my best to help. By the way, thine roommate will arrive in a few days, and he will share this room with thee."

"W-What's his name?"

"Fran."

Looking down at his watch, Basil said, "It's getting late, Sawada-dono. Thou must wake at six a.m. tomorrow morning. Breakfast is at seven. I suggest thou call thine mother now."

_Right_, Tsuna realised, _I haven't called mum yet. She's probably worried about me..._

"Thanks again, B-Basil-kun. I'll see you t-tomorrow."

When the door was shut behind the blond haired boy, Tsuna immediately reached for the phone. The phone was very easy to use – after pressing the button for international calls, a voice gave him a list of destinations. Pressing the number three for Japan, he waited for the line to connect, before dialling his home number.

The phone was answered within three rings.

"_Tsu-kun? Is that you?_"

Tsuna's heart clenched as he heard his mother's cheerful tone. It had only been less than a day since he had seen her, but that felt like ages ago. Now they were living on opposite sides of the world, with only the phone, internet and post for communication and connection.

"Yes it's me, mum."

"_Oh, Tsu-kun, I'm so glad to hear from you! How are you? What time is it_?"

"It's night time... and I'm...fine," Tsuna replied, unable to bring himself to tell his mother his honest feelings, "The school is huge and the food is good, though your cooking is still the best. I met Yamamoto-san, and the prefect of CEDEF is really nice. He speaks in old, traditional Japanese. It's...funny..."

His mother laughed merrily into her phone. "_Ah, Tsu-kun has already made some friends! I knew you'd be happy in Italy! And oh, is that where Yamamoto-kun went?_"

"Yeah...he made friends with a very scary boy, though. His name is Gokudera, and he's really mean. But since Yamamoto-san likes him, he can't be that bad..." However, Tsuna still shivered at the thought of the scowling silver haired boy. "So...how is home? You're alone, right?" he asked, feeling guilty.

"_I invited the neighbours over for dinner. Tsu-kun, the house is lonely without you, but I'm so proud of you! I'm glad you made friends, and I hope you'll improve on your studies! I love you so much, Tsu-kun!_"

"I love you too..." he whispered, feeling a smile shift onto his face. His mother always had that effect on him. "I'm...glad too...I'll miss you so much. I promise, mum, I'll do my best at this school."

"_I'm so proud of you, Tsu-kun_," his mother repeated with a small giggle, "_I miss you too. Don't forget to call me every once in a while. With only me in the house, it's quite lonely_."

"S-Sorry mum...I'll call every night." _If I never came to VCEDEFA, then I would never have left mum..._

"_That's good to hear. Now it's probably getting very late. What time to you have to wake up tomorrow, Tsu-kun?_"

"S-Six in the morning."

There was a sudden sharp tone in his mother's voice. "_Six? It's time to go to sleep, then! You shouldn't be late tomorrow, when it's your __very__ first day!_"

Tsuna gave a small chuckle. "Yes, mum," he said with a faint smile. Hearing his mother's scolding made him feel at home. "Goodnight."

A tear escaped his eye as he hung up. He couldn't bear the thought of living without his mother by his side – she was always there for him, the one who knew him best and held him in her best interests at heart. Now, their only means of communication and contact were via the phone, internet and letters, and Tsuna did not know when he may ever see her again.

Tsuna closed his eyes as soon as he rested on his bed. Though the school was a terrifying place, the sight of his possessions and the smell of his blanket were familiar. His mother's soft words still whispered in his ears, and with a heart aching smile, he drifted off to sleep, his mind wrapped with the illusion that he was back at home, safe and sound with his mother.

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**Mockingjay Rose: **Yes, this chapter is finally finished! This one took really long, and sorry for the late update. We hope to make quicker updates in the future.

Anyways, Yamamoto and Gokudera have appeared, as well as the 'silver long haired man' and the 'blond man'. Fran has also been mentioned!

_**TUGB:** _Hehe, nonetheless it is definitely great to be updating again. As mentioned by Mockingjay Rose, we will try to update as soon as possible^^ Please don't forget to write us some feedback~

Stay tuned for the next chapter, hmm:D


	4. Welcome to Hell

**HUNT**

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**Mockingjay Rose: **Hey everyone, it's really been a while, hasn't it?

_**TUGB: **_Ehehe^^ Sorry about the delay; we really hope that this chapter will be to your liking. And we hope to make more constant updates in the future:D

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**Chapter 3 – Welcome to Hell**

Six am in the morning was when the school alarms suddenly sounded.

Tsuna squeaked, as the decibels penetrated through the supposedly "soundproof" door to his dorm room, sending vibrations across the small interior and shaking him mercilessly out of bed. Hanging onto the bedpost for dear life, Tsuna's body bounced up and down against the carpeted floor, before the tremors finally ceased.

Wiping off the cold sweat beads which had accumulated on his eyebrows, the brunet warily walked across the carpet and towards the bathroom, still feeling quite dizzy. With his toothbrush in his mouth, he opened the wardrobe to find his new school uniform.

Inside, three sets of uniforms were already present, all crisp and perfectly tailored to fit him. Hanging on the rack was an assortment of shirts and pants for all seasons and occasions, with strange logos on them. Two black coats were also hung with a smart looking suit and blazer, beside a strange looking vest with heavy padding. Ties and singlets were neatly folded on a shelf inside the wardrobe, as were jumpers and thermal underclothing.

"T-This is just like a hotel…" Tsuna breathed with amazement, as he fingered the expensive fabric of his school blazer. It was like a dream – he had so often seen celebrity students in Japan on TV wearing such clothing that it simply felt unreal.

_I still haven't figured out my dad__'s relation to this academy_…Tsuna grudgingly thought as he removed the toothbrush from his mouth to pull his pyjamas over his head. Then he began to button his black collared shirt and loosely do his tie. After that, he changed his pants and put on his coat, as advised by the student handbook lying on his desk.

According to the book, breakfast ended at seven, preceded by an hour of physical training. With five minutes left to spare before the meal was over, the brunet quickly ran a hand through his gravity defying hair and rushed out the door, only to slam headfirst into someone.

"Sawada-dono?" a dirty-blond haired boy asked in a concerned voice, as he helped Tsuna off the floor, "Art thou alright?"

Tsuna nodded dumbly, clutching his head. "B-Basil-kun…w-where is the Dining Hall again?"

"Oh Sawada-dono, have thou not eaten?" Basil asked with wide eyes, "But it is so late! As a prefect of the CEDEF division, I was sent to escort thou to the Sorting offices on the first floor. Spanner-san wishes to speak to thee and to give thee thy identification ring."

Tsuna's stomach growled and he blushed, trying to hide the sounds. "A-Ah…"

The prefect of the CEDEF division looked away and sighed, before he handed Tsuna a package with two slices of toast and a banana. "This is my morning tea…but I suppose thou shalt eat this…"

**-XXXX-**

Two staircase falls and fifteen bruises later, Tsuna finally arrived outside a row of extravagant offices. In total, there were between twenty or thirty. As he walked past, Tsuna spotted terrifying looking adults eating breakfast, and he swore he saw a man with scars on his face, drinking shots and shots of something he hoped wasn't alcoholic.

"This way, Sawada-dono," Basil said, pointing towards one of the smaller offices on their left, "This is Spanner-san's office. He will give thou your identification ring and sort you into a division."

Tsuna opened his mouth to squeak a reply, but Basil had already bowed and walked into the next corridor. Taking a shaky breath, the brunet gently tapped on the door, inwardly praying for the best.

_BANG BANG BANG BANG-_

"_Hiiiiiie_!" Tsuna shrieked, his hands flailing in front of his face as he attempted to shield himself

The door opened and a man with blond hair peeked out with bored eyes. "Mr Tsunayoshi Sawada?" he asked in a monotone.

"Hiiiie! Y-Yes that's me! Arggghhhh!"

The man – Spanner, Tsuna presumed – glanced at the white fluff and hit the switch on the face of the door. "Relax," he said, "It's just popcorn."

_Popcorn?_

"We normally give a simulation test to the new students," Spanner continued, "That way, we can determine how their brain works and their overall intelligence and reflexes. Normally by then, it is clear which division of VCEDEFA you would be sorted into, though there have been several occurrences where the vice of the Varia division gave a second test just to be certain."

Tsuna didn't really understand the words the man used, but he nodded along, trying not to imagine he was back in Nezu-sensei's boring classes. "S-So w-what do I do?" he asked the blond man nervously, his fingers playing with his gravity defying hair.

Spanner sucked on his lollipop for a few more seconds before he returned his attention to Tsuna. "A special request has been made by a co-founder of the school for you to join the Varia division." The man shrugged indifferently. "You're not intelligent enough to be a CEDEF agent anyways," he added bluntly, causing the brunet to flush with embarrassment, "but I can't say you have Varia quality either."

Tsuna's mind cast back to the night before, when he had dinner at the Dining Hall of the school. He remembered seeing some people of the Varia division then.

"Hiiiiiie!" he screamed, "W-Why am I with the s-scary people? T-They'll k-kill me!"

The door was suddenly kicked open and the tall man with long silver hair from the night before stormed in, his aura murderous. "VOOOOI!" he yelled, in a volume that fearfully remind Tsuna of the school wake up alarms, "WARM UP CLASSES ARE STARTING IN HALF AN HOUR! TRASH, YOU BETTER HAVE CHANGED INTO YOUR SPORTS GEAR AND GOTTEN YOUR ASS AT THE TRAINING FIELD IN TEN MINUTES OR ELSE YOU'LL HAVE TO DO TEN PUNISHMENT LAPS!"

Then the man pointed his sword threateningly in Tsuna's direction, before leaving, not bothering to fix the door which had been forced out of its hinges. The brunet trembled at the man's intensity.

He shivered.

"Ah, so we're short of time. That means we have to quicken things up a bit," Spanner said, typing keywords into his computer with a look of boredom upon his face, "Your room number is 627, on the sixth floor. Here's your identification ring." He reached into his desk and removed an orange ring, before connecting it onto the computer with a thin wire. When it was ready, he handed it to Tsuna.

"T-Thank you," Tsuna said, as he touched the ring nervously, "B-But how do I l-light it up?"

Spanner glanced at the clock and waved him away. "Sorry, but time's up. You'll figure it out on your own. Go get changed now – I don't want Squalo to enter my office again."

**-XXXX-**

"Yo Tsuna, over here!" a voice called out. Tsuna scanned around the field before he found Yamamoto. Walking quickly towards the Japanese teen, the brunet smiled a little, feeling glad that he wasn't alone.

"H-Hey Y-Yamamoto-san," Tsuna stuttered in Japanese, bowing to his classmate, "W-What are we doing?"

Yamamoto shook his head. "We're in Italy, Tsuna!" he said casually, stunning Tsuna with his lack of honorifics, "We don't need to be so formal here!"

A familiar looking silverette scoffed from behind Yamamoto, and Tsuna recognised him as Gokudera. "These are just the basic morning exercises," he said, "Tch, only a weakling like you'd think running five laps is hard."

Tsuna cringed. It was true that he lacked sporting ability unlike Yamamoto, and even back in Namimori, he was hopeless when it came to Physical Education. As the trio waited for their teacher to arrive, Tsuna looked around. The field was vast, and judging from some holes in the ground that were near him, he assumed that they were the slots for goalposts and whatnot. However, as he peered into one of the holes, he saw a glint of light that was reflected off from the rays of the sun.

"H-Hie..i-is that…"

It was a clean bullet of a revolver, embedded into the dirt.

Tsuna quickly fell back and scrambled away, breathing heavily. _What is a bullet doing here of all places? _he thought wildly, rising to his feet. _A-A gun…?! _Suddenly, as if right on cue, his stomach growled and a terrible pain in his abdomen followed soon after. Tsuna clutched his stomach and inhaled deeply to relieve the pain. _And this is what I get for not eating breakfast…_

"Oi Tsuna, are you alright?" Yamamoto asked concerned, "Is your stomach hurting?"

Tsuna opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short by the arrival of the teacher.

"Everyone, my name is Colonello, and I am your Physical Education teacher, kora!" the blonde teacher greeted. He seemed to be in his early twenties, with a camouflage headband across his forehead, and he wore a white T-shirt with green army camouflage pants and jacket. Over one shoulder was an anti-tank rifle, and on the other shoulder a white hawk was perched with its eyes glaring daggers at the students.

"7 laps around the field, kora!" he instructed, waving them off.

"S-Seven?!" the brunet shrieked, trudging along reluctantly.

"Che, I knew you were a sore loser from the start, hmph," Gokudera said coldly, before he ran off easily.

Seeing Tsuna, as well as some others' poor enthusiasm, Collonello sighed and shouted, "You better make this quick, kora! Otherwise, the last 3 people will have to do 47 push-ups!"

"HIEE!" Tsuna quickened his pace, but staggered uncontrollably as he felt the abdominal pains once again. He pushed his stomach and stretched, in hope that it would lessen the pain. However, this time, the pains were persistent, churning his insides and sending searing pains every time he pressed, hence slowing him down drastically.

It was getting difficult to see, as his vision was hazy and he was succumbing to dizziness. _47 push-ups…_Tsuna thought weakly, as he ran, _47 push-ups…everyone would see how…_dame_ I am…after I told mum that I would give it my best here…_

Cold sweat formed across his face.

When he finally completed his first lap, he didn't hear the calling of Yamamoto or his teacher as he felt his knees buckle. Then Tsuna saw his world turn upside down.

**-XXXX-**

"U-Urgh…"

"Tsunayoshi," spoke a polite female voice, "Are you alright? You fainted due to severe stomach pains because of an empty stomach."

Tsuna nodded wearily, turned to his side, and sighed heavily. _Who knew going without breakfast could deal me this much pain…_

"Tsunayoshi, there is food prepared for you here as instructed by Basil, since he assumed you would be too unwell to go to lunch anyway," she continued, walking over to a trolley full of covered dishes and drinks, and wheeled it next to the brunet's bed, "Is there anything you prefer? We have many varieties here at the academy, so feel free to choose whatever you like. As for the drinks, they are specially made to soothe your stomach."

"A-Ah thank you," he humbly replied, before propping himself up to take a look at the platters before him. _Thank you Basil-kun._

"You should wake up earlier, Tsunayoshi. I'm sure the breakfast times are quite appropriate," the nurse smiled before walking away. Tsuna nodded, gently grabbed a dish from the trolley, and was shocked at the exquisite cuisine.

Whilst in the middle of his meal, he heard some doctors and nurses in a heated conversation nearby.

"It must have been _him_ who did it. There is no other who does gruesome things like this!" a woman vehemently spoke, "This kind of torture is horrific – we are not even sure if it is possible to heal them!"

"What are you talking about," snapped another female irritably, "Of course we can cure them. We are the Vongola's best medics – we shall not lose to the nemesis like this!"

"Sara is correct," spoke up another man softly, as he put down a glass, Tsuna presumed. "No matter what he decides to throw at us – it maybe be the gruelling remains of our men, tattoos carved deeply into our men's skin to signal his deadly presence, or horrendous illusions to lead us astray, but _we will beat him_."

_HIEEE?!_ _What is this?! What am I signing up for here?! Gruelling remains? Torture?! What?! _Tsuna cried mentally, profoundly disturbed. He shivered violently, and cold sweat formed once again. The next statement sent a shiver down his spineand turned him pale, as he finally found a piece to his puzzle.

"Xanxus and Iemitsu have made their move. Do not worry, we are in good hands."

_Iemitsu._

_Dad…_

**-XXXX-**

Tsuna shuffled along the corridors reluctantly as he headed towards his next class – Weapon training. The end of lunch bell had sounded a few seconds ago, just when the brunet stepped out of the infirmary, still in shock and fear over the nurses' conversation. He shook his head, trying to brush the matter aside, and proceeded to look in his VCEDEFA diary to check his timetable for the day.

_Weapon training: underground artillery training grounds _

"Hiee?! H-How on earth do I get underground?" cried Tsuna miserably, stepping to the left as other students ran past him to their next class. "I'm going to be late at this rate."

"You're really stupid, aren't you? Not asking where the locations of your classes are before lessons just proves that, che."

Tsuna turned abruptly to his right to find the silveret brush past him in a hurry.

"G-Gokudera-ku- I-I mean, Gokudera!" he shouted frantically, running after him, "Please wait up!" He quickened his pace when he saw his classmate turn the corner, desperate to not lose sight of him. _Gokudera-kun walks so fast…_

When Tsuna eventually turned the corner, he stopped in his tracks and gasped. An extremely long corridor awaited him – it was so long that the end of the corridor was pitch black, with only dim torches lining the walls. He gulped and walked in slowly, cautious of his surrounds. _Is this really the right way…? I swore I saw Gokudera-kun turn- Wait…_ "G-Gokudera!" Tsuna suddenly called, searching for the silveret.

"Where could he have gone…" he muttered to himself anxiously, "I don't even know the way!"

"Hopeless."

Tsuna swiftly turned, only to find Gokudera walking alongside him calmly. "Hiiee! H-How?!"

"Hmph, you were so scared that you completely missed me in the beginning of the corridor, idiot," he snapped, placing his hands inside his pockets, "I can't believe you're scared of something like this."

"Y-Yeah…u-uhm, thanks for…waiting for me, G-Gokude-"

"W-What? H-Hell no, idiot!" he retorted, walking faster with a tinge of red creeping upon his cheeks, "Who would wait for guy like you, hmph!"

"W-Wait! W-What?"

As they walked along the never-ending corridor, the torches began to light up one by one on both walls, guiding them down. The air grew colder, and it became more difficult to breathe, as they ventured deeper and deeper underground. They treaded in silence until they saw a dim, orange light at the end of the hallway.

"H-How…how did we arrive here…is this even underground?" questioned Tsuna confused, as they neared the end. The air noticeably grew warmer towards the light source.

"Che, we've walked quite a while if you haven't already noticed. The torches are so mesmerising that almost everyone doesn't even realise that," explained Gokudera, "This isn't really deep though; there are deeper sub-level training grounds in the academy. We're only on sub-level one."

**-XXXX-**

"My name is Reborn, and I will be your firearms teacher in the weapon training course. We have rotations every lesson, so you all can be familiar with a variety of weapons. We are underground is because we have the appropriate grounds here to train in correspondence with the weapons you will be using."

The teacher paused and adjusted his fedora, before continuing seriously, "Today's weapons are revolvers. Go and pick one from the shelves in the firearms storeroom, as well as some protective gear, and then come into this room here." Reborn gestured towards a closed door at the back of the room.

Tsuna's nightmare was turning into reality when he heard what the subject of the lesson would be for today.

_HIEEE! Revolvers?! Firearms?! W-What is this academy?! Is this even legal?! Why are we-_

"Tsuna, here," grinned Yamamoto, handing him a sleek black handgun, "You seemed spaced out, so I got one for you." Tsuna nodded meekly, and held the gun warily.

"Y-Yamamoto…I-Is this even allowed here..? I mean, it's a _gun_," the brunet said, as they strode into the other room.

Yamamoto laughed, "Of course Tsuna! The academy is real serious and all, so I'm sure it's safe. No need to worry, Tsuna!"

"No talking. Get into rows of 5 and the first person is to step up behind the screens. Aim for the silhouette's vital organs, which have been shaded in green. Once the chamber is empty, move to the back of the line," Reborn instructed behind a glass screen on the other side of the room. The room was large, and the ground was rocky and unlevelled. One third of the room was the shooting station, which was surrounded by clear – Tsuna assumed it was bullet-proof – glass, with a reasonably sized opening for a gun to fit through. Around 25 metres away stood five human silhouettes, which were their targets. Tsuna also noticed some weird devices on the ceiling and inmany other areas across the room.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention," said Reborn, "If you happen to miss the green targets more than twice, then something bad will happen to you – with one example being a mine exploding right beneath you."

Tsuna swore he could see the teacher smirk sadistically.

**-XXXX-**

"Y-You're ok, right, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked with concern as they walked back to their rooms after the firearms lesson, "Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"N-No…I'm fine…" the brunet replied resignedly, fingering the bruise on his left cheek, which was the result of being hit with a tennis ball after missing the target twice, "T-That teacher was pure evil…" _Hie! I don't want him ever again!_ he shrieked mentally.

"Che, we couldn't even count how many times you missed," Gokudera scoffed.

"Ah, it's alright, Tsuna! You'll do better next time," Yamamoto reassured, giving his friend's shoulder a slight squeeze, "That's your room, right? We'll see you soon!"

Tsuna nodded in reply, as he was too sore to say anymore. He then took out his ring from his pocket and tried to come up with ways to open the door. "Argh…I should have asked them first." Just when he was about to give up and ask the guy he had met this morning, the door opened abruptly, making him jump in surprise.

"H-Hiee! What-"

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you went. Since it's you, I thought that you were lost," said the boy monotonously.

Tsuna could only gape in shock at the teal-haired boy wearing a strange frog hat standing in front of him, whose expression seemed anything but interested. A pair of teal eyes bore into his own brown ones, and Tsuna shivered under his gaze. Before the boy strolled casually back into the room, Tsuna swore he could see a glint of darkness, mingled with extreme despair and mixed emotions.

* * *

_**TUGB:**_ Fran has finally made his appearance, folks! It's great to be updating again – please leave us some feedback, and stay tuned for the upcoming chapter:D

**Mockingjay Rose: **Haha, yeah. Please review!


	5. Surprise Grading Exam

**HUNT**

* * *

**Mockingjay Rose: **Yo, here's another quick-ish update from us. TUGB and I had a lot of fun writing it, and we hope you will enjoy it as well. There are several surprises through this chapter, haha.

**TUGB: **Greetings~ Thank you for everyone's feedback concerning the last chapter – your reviews were very much appreciated. Well then, please enjoy the fourth chapter of HUNT.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Surprise Grading Exam**

"Well, have you finished staring at my lovely face yet?" the teal haired boy questioned apathetically from the other side of the door. When he saw that his roommate had finally snapped back to reality, he added sarcastically, "No no, I didn't mean it like that – please continue. I love the attention actually."

"U-Uhm, my…name is Tsunayoshi Sawada," the brunet greeted slowly, whilst closing the door behind him after a last second mental reminder that he was in Italy and that the Japanese honorifics were not needed. He bowed slightly in respect. From behind, Yamamoto wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Gokudera and I will be heading to the Dining Hall," the black haired boy said to Tsuna, "So we'll see you both in a bit, yeah?"

"O-Okay… Bye, Yamamoto!" The older boy gave him an encouraging smile, before he turned to walk towards the nearby lifts with an angry silverette at his heels. When the two were out of sight, Tsuna glanced at his new roommate, who was currently picking his nose without a care in the world.

"E-Eh…W-What is your n-name?" he stuttered. Tsuna lowered his head slightly, expecting the teal haired boy to ignore him. In all his life, the brunet had been rejected friendships at school, because no one ever wanted to be _Dame-Tsuna_'s friend.

"Hn…my name is Fran, but call me 'mum'," Fran said mockingly.

The brunet widened his eyes – though the tone of his roommate was clearly rude, it was still a start. Smiling a little, Tsuna nodded hesitantly and opened his mouth to say something, but he was abruptly cut off by a statement made by the boy.

"We better hurry, Tuna, otherwise the dinner bell will ring," Fran continued, walking over to the bedside table where his clock was, "Actually, the bell will ring in less than an hour."

"H-Hiee?!" Tsuna shrieked in shock, "Already?! I haven't even changed yet!" Fran just shrugged, before he disappeared into the bathroom and came out a minute later with a large box of over-flowing first aid material. "F-Fran, why do we have such an abundant supply of this?"

"It was given by the infirmary, by the request of a certain teacher," Fran explained, as he was gathering a bundle of clothes from his suitcase, "The nurses in the infirmary said that the teacher told them to give it to you, because without this supply, you won't be able to survive his future lessons. Apparently, he also added that if you died during his lessons, it would be troublesome to clean up, Tuna."

As the bathroom door closed, Tsuna shivered, remembering his last lesson with Reborn. The brutality and toughness of his lesson was much worse than all the bullying he had received at Namimori Middle. The brunet couldn't even begin to imagine what the demon teacher was going to have in store for them next.

_HIE! These materials must be from him! It's like a death wish! _Tsuna cried mentally in distress, _He knows I'm not going to survive! _Before the brunet could piss his pants in misery, his eyes suddenly met the clock on Fran's bedside tableand he gasped.

_5:30pm._

_30 minutes until dinner._

And with that in mind, Tsuna hurriedly changed into another uniform which was folded neatly in the wardrobe, and then proceeded to hastily dab a clear, stinging ointment onto his wounds. After that, he stole another swift glance at the clock and shouted to his roommate, who was in the bathroom. "Fran, we have 5 minutes until dinner – we should go down and get some seats!"

"Ok, whatever, I mean, it would be better if we went out before the bells sounded," Fran answered, strolling out of the bathroom casually. Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna noticed that he slipped an indigo ring in his coat pocket discreetly, "Those stupid bells really are music to your eardrums, aren't they, Tuna?"

"Y-Yeah… And a-actually, my name is Tsun-"

"Oh, and Tuna, while I was going to the infirmary today, I overheard the clumsy, blond teacher say something about having a special lesson tonight."

"Something's…on?" Tsuna repeated, as he closed the door behind him and followed Fran down the hallway to the Dining Hall, where other students were doing the same thing.

"Yeah, who knows, it might be a surprise lesson or something," was the unenthusiastic reply.

**-XXXX-**

With 17 minutes until dinner was over, Tsuna was already feeling quite full and content with the amount of Chinese cuisine he had eaten. Fortunately Chinese characters were similar to Japanese _kanji_, so he was able to understand the names of the foods, and with Gokudera's reluctant help, Tsuna had forced himself to memorise a few Mandarin phrases so he could have dinner that night.

Surprisingly, Fran knew how to speak a little Mandarin as well, and Tsuna had noticed before that his Japanese was almost fluent. In fact, everyone currently staying at VCEDEFA knew how to speak his first language, though they were mostly Italian citizens. It both confused yet relieved Tsuna that no one was actually speaking Italian at an Italian school.

When he voiced his question "Why is everyone speaking Japanese?" to Fran, Yamamoto, and Gokudera, the silveret had said something about a criminal named Rokudo Mukuro, and a possible suspect named Nagi, who was last seen alive in Japan. Yamamoto had shrugged and told Tsuna that Varia's vice-commander was also planning a mission there soon, so everyone was supposed to be fluent at the language. Fran, as usual, had given a sarcastic, monotonous reply that made no sense at all.

"Um F-Fran? I-Isn't it bad to be eating so much before a-a s-special lesson?" Tsuna suddenly asked, peering at the teal haired boy.

However his roommate was nowhere near finishing. Fran was gobbling plate after plate of food, obviously oblivious of the negative attention he was getting from nearby students.

"A special lesson?" questioned Yamamoto curiously, leaning closer, "What is this about?" He then turned to the silveret. "Do you know anything about this, Gokudera?"

"No," the silveret snapped, and from what Tsuna could tell from his facial expressions, he was slightly outraged that no one had told him of such an event. "From what I know, though, night lessons are usually quite interesting and they generally involve fieldwork."

"I-I see…hey Fra-Fran?!" cried Tsuna, whipping his head around, only to find the boy lining up for another cup of green tea. The brunet sighed and rested his head on the table – Fran did not seem the least bit interested in this night lesson at all.

**RRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGGGG!**

Tsuna jumped, and brought his hands to his ears. _Argh, why are the bells always so loud? _After the bells had ceased their ringing, he rose and looked for his roommate, when an abrupt announcement sounded over the many loudspeakers in the Dining Hall.

"VOOOI! TO ALL YOU SCUMS – GET YOUR ASSES IN SUBLEVEL TWO'S TRAINING ARENA IMMEDIATELY! TARDINESS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, TRASHES, OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE MY SWORD TO DEAL WITH!"

"…"

"HIEEE! Where is sub-level two?" Tsuna shouted, pulling the finally found Fran towards Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were filing out of the hall in a hurry.

"It's under sub-level one, where we had weapon classes! Just follow Gokudera!" replied Yamamoto, dashing after the silverette, "Don't fall behind, or else the vice-commander will be onto us!" Tsuna nodded and ran beside his roommate, who was surprisingly keeping up despite all the food he had eaten. Whilst they ran, Tsuna barely heard his companion say softly:

"Tonight will sure be interesting."

**-XXXX-**

As the four students stepped out of the special elevator that had transported them down to the training arena, they all gasped in awe. They had all stepped out into…_a rainforest._ As they walked towards where all the other students had gathered, he heard Gokudera say that this training arena was special. It was huge – unlike anything they had ever seen before, and it was technologically controlled. This meant that the realistic surrounds and the environment of the arena were all controlled by various technologies, and for this lesson, it was to spend a night in a dark, eerie rainforest.

But it wasn't going to be that easy.

"This seems like a real rainforest…" the brunet gaped in amazement, as he looked up at the night sky above him, which was all made realistic by the advancements in technology.

"Ahahaha, Italy is certainly well developed ne, Tsuna?" Yamamoto said, as he took in Tsuna's expression. The brunet tried to reply, but for the second time that day, he was interrupted.

"VOOII! WE ARE GOING TO START EXPLAINING THE RULES AND THE REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY FOR YOUR FIELDWORK ASSIGNMENT TONIGHT, SCUMS! HURRY UP!" commanded a young man with waist-length silver hair. All the students immediately began to huddle closer together and their chatter stopped. Beside the vice-commander stood a young, blond man, who was grinning sheepishly.

"Squalo, you're always so loud," said the blond, laughing softly. He then turned to the class with a serious expression. "Good evening, students, I am Dino Cavallone, the acting teacher here. Unfortunately Leviathan, your spying teacher, is currently unavailable, so I am here in his stead.

"Tonight, you will all have another Surprise Grading Exam, a test that evaluates your current level. This is a chance for you to prove yourselves, and to attend higher classes."

The students suddenly grinned and leaned forward eagerly, leaving Tsuna more confused than ever. Glancing around at his companions, the brunet frowned at the fact that even Fran, who had arrived at VCEDEFA after him, had some idea as to what was going on.

"So anyway, here is your briefing," the blond teacher continued, flashing an orange ring across a strange device. There was a 'beep' and then a large projector appeared beside him. At Dino's command, an elaborate document was opened and displayed. "Your missions tonight will be split into two groups. The first group's priority is to defend the Base, and the second group's priority is to navigate through the rainforest's maze to-"

"VOI! YOU'RE TOO SLOW!" Squalo snapped at the substitute teacher. Turning towards the alarmed students, the silver haired man pointed his sword at the projection. "TRASHES, READ THE BRIEFING YOURSELVES AND GET INTO YOUR GROUPS. ONE GROUP DOES OFFENCE, ONE GROUP DOES DEFENCE. YOU ALL HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO PREPARE. GOT IT?!"

"Yes sir!" the students replied enthusiastically. Tsuna suppressed a shiver. _Hiiie! _he thought, as he began to read what was on the board, _I wonder which group I'm in…_

"Oi Tsuna," Yamamoto explained kindly, "The Surprise Grading Exams – or SGEs – are actually like a game. Basically it's the CEDEF division versus the Varia division, and we fight in different environments. You have to watch out for the prefects and the Moscas, though. They fight both groups to make the test harder."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "S-So I'll b-be with you?" he asked the black haired boy hopefully. To his relief, Yamamoto patted his shoulder and smiled.

"Yup! Gokudera's with us too, which is good. He's amazing at battle strategy, so it's no wonder that he's a level three student already, despite arriving at VCEDEFA only a month before me!"

Gokudera scoffed at the mentioning of his name. "Tch," he muttered, "Nothing's a game here, baseball idiot, and not everyone is as stupid as you."

"Maa maa! That's mean, Gokudera!" was the light reply, "We should get prepared then, ne? It looks like the Varia division will be on the offensive tonight. I'm glad we had Weapons class today!"

Adjusting their bullet proof vests, Gokudera and Yamamoto stood up and gripped their weapons. With determined expressions on their faces, they moved to collect a box of night-vision goggles, and another box with bullet proof vests. Soon, when the offensive group had all put on their goggles and vests, they relocated deeper into the forest, and Gokudera carved a map of the rainforest onto the muddy earth with a nearby branch once the group was certain that there weren't any spies. Tsuna was awed by the silveret's memory – almost every detail was drawn exactly like the map given on the mission briefing.

"Sub-level two," Gokudera began, addressing the group, "is three and a half square kilometres. According to the map, the rainforest has been divided into four sections – north, south, east, and west.

"If you've been listening in class, you'll know that the CEDEF focuses more on intelligence, rather than force. It's obvious that they'll resort to using traps and sending spies into our group. The prefects and Moscas, however, are rather worrying. The new Varia prefect," he added distastefully, "is rumoured to have possibly enough power to match Xanxus."

"Hey Gokudera," Yamamoto called down from a tree above, "I've spotted the first group's Base. From where you are, it's located at four o'clock. They've almost camouflaged it."

The silveret nodded and glanced down at his map. "The base is located in the east of the forest then," he told everyone. "We'll form into groups of four and hold the Base under siege from all directions. The close range fighters will break into the Base and the mid-range to long range fighters will remain on standby outside. Attack those defending the Base from the distance and be prepared, should the need for reinforcements arise."

"G-G-Gokudera…?"

Snickers from the students sounded as they watched a fearful brunet slowly raise his hand. Looks of bewilderment and disbelief filled their faces.

"What?" Gokudera snapped impatiently, "We don't have much time left."

"U-Um…" Tsuna stuttered, "W-What if we c-can't…f-f-fight?"

"_What the hell is a wimp doing in here?"_

"_Ahahaha! He won't even last a minute!"_

Ignoring the other students' complaints, the silveret glared at Tsuna. "If you can't do as much as shoot a moving target," he replied stiffly, "then stay out of the way. Camouflage yourself and don't interfere."

"Maa maa, Gokudera!" Yamamoto scolded, when he had climbed down from the tree, "You're so cold today. Tsuna could be a look-out. If we station him on top of a high tree, he could observe everything and inform us through our earpieces!"

"Che, I doubt that loser could even climb trees."

Tsuna averted his eyes and nervously played with his fingers. "I…"

"_VOOOOOOOI! TIME'S UP! BATTLE…START! __TRY NOT TO __DIE, TRASHES!"_

All of a sudden, a wave of students rushed past Tsuna, spraying mud everywhere. Gokudera hurriedly destroyed the map and slung his strung bow over his shoulder, before he followed Yamamoto to head east.

"Hiiiie! W-Wait for me!" Tsuna cried, as he frantically tried to locate Yamamoto, Gokudera, and even Fran. His words echoed back, not reaching the ears of the Varia students, who had already vanished from sight.

Seeing that he was already mud-splattered, the brunet sighed and knelt down behind a tree, smearing more mud on his body. _If my mum saw me now, she would kill me_, he thought. When he was done, Tsuna closed his eyes and tried to suppress his fear, by taking deep breaths.

But he was all alone, lost in a three and a half square kilometre large dark forest.

* * *

Five minutes later, Tsuna had a gut feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

_Snap!_

"Hii-"

Quickly, Tsuna slapped a mud-covered hand over his mouth, cringing at the horrible earthy taste. He also pinched his nose and willed his racing heart to slow down.

There was a flash of black and the sound of a coat flapping. Before Tsuna saw who it was, he had already felt the person's overpowering aura. After a 'whoosh', the darkly dressed figure jumped down from a nearby tree, landing smoothly. With his night-vision goggles, Tsuna saw that the figure was a black haired male. He wore a long coat over a high-collared shirt, with the Varia insignia on the back of the coat.

_A Varia prefect_, Tsuna realised with horror. Pinching his eyes shut, the brunet pressed his back to the tree, praying that the person would leave him alone.

_Pleasedon'tseeme pleasedon'tseeme pleasedon'tseeme-_

He didn't see the flash of two rods of metal, before it was too late.

"Hiiiie!"

Metal bit into his shoulder, and Tsuna fell face-first into the mud, with blood pounding in his ears. The shockwaves from the attack paralysed his body, rendering his limbs useless.

But the way the blow was dealt…it felt…_familiar_?

How was that possible?

Tsuna clawed his fingers down into the soft, moist earth and moulded a handful into a mud ball. With a little cry, he tried to fling the mud ball at his assailant, only to miss by a mile. Instead, the Varia prefect's irritation increased dangerously, until he had Tsuna shrunk deeper into the mud, the brunet's mind and body completely overwhelmed by sheer terror.

"Help!" he screamed, "Help me! Hiiiiiiie!"

_CRACK!_

"You're too loud."

Tsuna's blood froze. _That v-voice… I-It couldn't be…?_

"Herbivore," the voice continued, "_I'll bite you to death_."

There, standing in front of him, brandishing the infamous pair of tonfas, was a certain prefect the brunet knew all too well.

"H-H-Hibari-san?!"

**-XXXX-**

* * *

**TUGB: **Enter: Hibari -the Varia prefect. Hmm, the grading exam will sure get interesting^^ Green rainforest~

**Mockingjay Rose: **Yes, Hibari will definitely stir some things up, haha. Please tell us your thoughts on him as a Varia prefect, will ya? XD

Thanks for reading, and please review! *gives out cookies*


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